Most Americans did not know who Gabrielle (Gabby) Giffords was before January 8, but after the horrific events that took place on that day, all Americans, not just Arizonans, have come to recognize the congresswoman.

To get a glimpse o who she is as a person and what her stand is on certain issues, PJ Media interviewed non-family members, many of them Republicans, who spoke highly of her.

Unanimously, everyone describes her with the same multitude of adjectives: genuine, decent, hardworking, outgoing, honest, warm, personable, and energetic. Jonathan Paton, who grew up with Giffords, feels that people respond to her because “she is like the girl next door.”

She is from our area. For example, at an event, a friend of mine, a Republican state representative, as conservative as you could get, stuck her hand out to shake Gabby’s hand. Gabby said to her I am not a hand shaker; I am a hugger. She hugged her on the spot, right there.

Giffords has a strong identity with Judaism and cherishes her Jewish heritage. She is the first Jewish congresswoman from Arizona. Her rabbi, Stephanie Aaron, told PJ Media that the congresswoman would meet with her to discuss how Jewish women can make an impact. While running for Congress, Giffords responded to a question by stating:

Growing up, my family’s Jewish roots and tradition played an important role in shaping my values. The women in my family served as strong role models for me as a girl.

Rabbi Aaron is impressed:

Gabby listens, pays attention, and is the female version of a mensch: someone who is truly a moral and ethical person. Young girls in the congregation looked upon her as a role model, a very successful Jewish woman to be proud of and to emulate. Gabby has the ability to transcend generations and political parties.

Paton, who ran against Giffords, and Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) emphasized that they disagreed with her on many of the core issues of 2010. Yet, as Flake pointed out:

[B]ecause she is such a decent person and easy to talk to, even with our political disparity, we could at least discuss issues reasonably. We were able to work together on issues involving the military and aspects of border security.

Giffords considers herself a Blue Dog Democrat who tries to maintain a balance in a district that is made up of extremes on the left and right, and has a Republican majority. She voted for ObamaCare, cap and trade, and the stimulus bill. On the other hand, she is a strong proponent of ensuring Israel’s safety, supports E-Verify, favors offshore oil drilling, wants to reduce the national debt, wants to establish an alternative energy program, strongly believes in the Second Amendment, and pushes for tighter border security.

How could Congresswoman Giffords win a district with a Republican majority? Kelly Glenn-Kimbro, a staunch Republican, said:

[P]eople have asked me how can I support a Democrat? Well, you name me one politician that you agree with 100% on their voting record. It’s like what President Reagan said: “A person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20% traitor.”

Please don’t misunderstand me; what happened is a tragedy and we all wish for her full recovery. But reading this and the many other Giffords stories is surreal. I have lived in her district for several decades. Everyone now agrees that she is a personable woman (though they did not always say that). That, and being the rich and well-connected daughter of a Tucson tire dealer, got her elected. Even the local Democratic party doubted, in private, that she would be re-elected. She fooled them by having the very good idea to start hiring as her staffers people from the (very liberal) Tucson newspaper; as a result, her name and/or picture appeared in the paper almost every day. But as a Congresswomen she accomplished nothing and was a lockstep follower of Nancy Pelosi. The idea that she is an intelligent, capable, broad-minded, “blue-dog” Democrat is a fantasy. No one who reads sites like this one would want her as a representative; all this instant hagiography means that I’ll have no choice.

I totally agree. And, if she is so wise, did she read that abomination of a “health care bill”? And if she did, she still voted for it and we are supposed to think she is good for Congress? No thanks. This all may have created another historic first (first Jewish woman) for the Democrats but I am not buying it.

This all may have created another historic first (first Jewish woman) for the Democrats but I am not buying it.

Surely not! Two names come to mind very quickly: Bella Abzug and Dianne Feinstein. Giffords may be the first Jewish woman from Arizona that is a Democrat in Congress but she is not the first Jewish woman Democrat in the US.

Harry and Anonymous. How well said. Anon, you beat me to it. I don’t care for her personally because she voted for Obamacare. Arizona should get rid of her for that alone….and I don’t see much influence being presed against illegal immigration either. Those tell me where she truly stands.

Gifford is, in principle, for all those political measures that, in effect, destroyed America’s financial system and her economy.

All other problems are the more or less direct result of that (leftist) self-destructive, perhaps deliberately, socio-political strategy.

One can blather about securing the border to the end of our “sh***y” lives but if one doesn’t have the money to do so that blather is just one more empty blather.

Thanks to the policies of those like Gifford, the American Congress will have to scrap the mere 2,5 billion dollars for the new engines for F-35 (the vital ingrediens of America’s security) while maintaining the unimaginable budget deficit of 1,3 thrillion.

That is as we call: “Penny wise but pound foolish”…

As much as I wish her a speedy recovery and all the happiness in her private life, she must be described as a PARASITE IN THE SHAPE OF A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER.

P.S: My apology for my imperfect, self-taught Eglish and for intruding into American politics.

However I LOVE America and am much more compassionate about American plotics than about my own EUNUCHALIAN which I regard as even more swampy than American.

I am really tired of hearing about this woman. She is well-paid and she voluntarily ran for political office; unfortunately, an occupational hazard of any politician is a lunatic prowling the crowd seeking mayhem. Frankly, I had never heard of this woman prior to this episode. My gripe is that many innocents were maimed or killed in this incident and we have heard precious little about them. The lives of the innocents were at least as important as Gabby’s; perhaps more important because they were not feasting off the taxpayers while voting ‘aye’ on toxic and unconstitutional legislation. I hope that the day will come when we do not have to hear anymore about this gal.

Thanks to Pajamas Media for this article on Gabrielle Giffords.
What happened on January 8, 2011, was a tragedy, for the families involved, for Gabrielle and her family and for our country. The critics will be the ones that slow down the process of recovery. Yet, thanks to the freedoms of the United States, you are able to be critics…Gabrielle will recover and hopefully will have a good quality of life. Politics have the opportunity to change and for the parties to stop fighting and striving to be top dog and to be “right” but to do what is “right” for the country. If Gabrielle returns to public service, good for her…if not, more power to her…she “took one” for the state that our country is sinking into… she was out trying to listen to her constituants, trying to keep the conversation between Washington and hard working Americans alive…As stated in the article, there is no one politician that will please any one American 100%. It is our job as Americans to convience our leaders to come together and stand on common ground…and Gabrielle is definitely an advocate of exactly that…Let’s clean it up America…let’s make it right for our children and grandchildren!
Gabrielle did not get us into the state that we are in…she is a victum of the state we are in.

Before the shooting I’d never heard of Giffords, I don’t live in Arizona so perhaps it’s not fair for me to judge her. The article says she is an advocate of solar and that we must free ourselves from our dependence on “Arab oil”. Well that’s the first warning bell. Solar energy has been around for decades and we still only get about what 2 or 3 percent of our total energy supply from solar? And “Arab oil”? We get the large majority of our oil from Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and some others. From Arab countries, not so much. Second warning bell. Did she read the healthcare bill that Nancy and Harry jammed down our throats? I think not. Does she walk hand in hand with Nancy? I think so. Third warning bell, strike three, she’s out. Sorry, I don’t place much trust in liberal democrats. She’s a nice lady? Great, wonderful, Mazel Tov, as the Hebrew saying goes. She carries a Glock? Wonderful, I’m happy she cares about the second amendment. But in the end I don’t believe she has the best interest of America in her heart.